We strongly discourage anyone from choosing crime as a career. Nevertheless, as with any pursuit in life, one should be prepared. For instance, if you are planning to carjack someone, you should make sure you can drive a stick-shift.

Though further explanation is probably unnecessary, the case involved one Anthony Jones. He and an accomplice tried to carjack a 1992 Toyota Tercel in Sacramento, but the “duo were apparently unaware that starting a manual transmission vehicle requires depression of the clutch pedal,” the court observed wryly.

So Mr. Jones turned the gun on the car owner and ordered him to drive. Thus, a carjacking became attempted carjacking and kidnapping for robbery. Police caught up with the Toyota Tercel minutes later and the men were arrested without incident.